Indians Prospect Insider

In a perfect world, the Indians would go out and sign Max Scherzer, Victor Martinez and Nelson Cruz and then go out and win the World Series in 2015. But that's not how things work in Cleveland, so as hard as it may be, as fans we often need to take a collective step back and look at things realistically. The IBI's Tony Lastoria attempts to do just that as he looks at all of the strengths and weaknesses of the Indians roster and what they may ultimately do to shore up those weaknesses this offseason.

Every year there seems to be a big posting that generates a lot of talk. This year the big foreign posting is a shortstop from Korea named Jung-Ho Kang. Get ready for an avalanche of stories on this young player as he is a need to know hot stove name that even most diehard baseball fans don’t know very well. The IBI's Jeff Ellis gives us the 411 on him as a player and also talks of the Indians interest in him.

Tyler Naquin had his first really good game in the Dominican Winter League, Giovanni Soto continues to rack up zeroes in the Puerto Rico Winter League and Giovanny Urshela continues to play well out in the Venezuela Winter League. The IBI's Tony Lastoria recaps their performances as well as several others as he takes us Around the Farm in winter ball on Sunday....

The Cleveland Indians failed to make the playoffs last season after making it as a wildcard team in 2013; however, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, he believe the Indians will be fine going into next season and will be a contender again. The IBI's Jay Frierson notes who Hoynes has the Indians tagetting in free agency and he recaps all the other news from the day...

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. With the minor league seasons at an end, we continue bringing you seasons in review, with today's featuring the 2014 Mahoning Valley Scrappers. This week we focus on the pitchers, with Jim Piascik breaking down the progress of a bunch of 2014 draft picks, checking in on starters like Sean Brady and Kieran Lovegrove, and much more as he takes you into The WAR Room.

This is the second part of the two-part 2014 Indians Instructional League wrapup here at the IBI. The first part covered the arms that the IBI's Tony Lastoria saw and provided lots of information and insight into what was an impressive collection of arms in Arizona. This piece focuses in on the position players, a place where the Indians also have an abundant amount of talent, and Tony provides all kinds of news, insight and more info on players like Bradley Zimmer, Bobby Bradley, Yu-Cheng Chang, Li- Jen Chu, Mike Papi and lots more.

The calendar flipped to November on Saturday, and the clocks flipped back an hour overnight thanks Daylight Savings Time. It was a full slate of action on Saturday as Indians were in action throughout the winter ball landscape around the world, and the IBI's Arthur Kinney recaps the performances from the day...

Following a 73-89 showing in 2014, the Chicago White Sox do not jump out as a threat to Cleveland in next year’s division race. Such a thought process would be selling the White Sox short, however. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down the combination of internal growth and offseason acquisitions that could help the White Sox make a playoff push in 2015 and make the AL Central even more crowded.

With all of the five winter leagues in action that have Indians players participating, the winter season season is in full bloom. Several Indians players debuted on Friday night, including Anderson Polanco and Giovanni Soto, and the IBI's Arthur Kinney recaps their performances as well as many others....

The Cavaliers got the first win of their young season on Friday night. Are big things ahead? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the Cubs hiring Joe Maddon and the potential tampering charges that could follow, what kind of contract Pablo Sandoval is seeking, the Indians shuffle up the front office, and more.

The Indians fall instructional league wrapped up a little over two weeks ago. Unlike years past, this was one of the more interesting programs due to the amount of talent the Indians had on display for five weeks out in Arizona. The IBI's Tony Lastoria spent some time out in Arizona for Instructs and shares some first impressions, thoughts and insights on young arms like Justus Sheffield, Sam Hentges, Grant Hockin, Jared Robinson, Micah Miniard and several others, as well as several injury and surgery updates to other pitchers.

In Thursday's first part, the IBI's John Mast compared the lineups of the American League Central’s three leading teams, the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and the American League Champion Kansas City Royals. When comparing the lineups side by side, where do the Indians need to improve? That's what John tries to answer in the second part of this two-part piece.

The final two offseason leagues -- the Puerto Rican Winter League and the Australian Winter League -- both began play on Thursday, marking the first time every offseason league was in action this season. Cleveland had a couple prospects in action, but as he has all year, third baseman Giovanny Urshela stole the show. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps Urshela’s sustained dominance and the rest of the action from across the globe as he takes you Around the Farm.

Happy Halloween! It feels weird that the baseball season is officially over. That doesn't mean the hot stove is taking a break! In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on Kevin Youkilis calling it a career, many players saw their options exercised or declined, where the Royals go from here, and more.

The Tigers and Royals have each been to the World Series the last three years. Although they came up short in their question for a title, they offer two very formidable clubs for the Indians to overtake and win the AL Central. In this two-part piece, the IBI's John Mast compares the three teams to show how they stack up with one another.

With the 2014 season officially over after the Giants defeated the Royals in Game 7 in thrilling fashion on Wednesday night, the 2014-2015 Hot Stove season in Major League Baseball is officially here. The Indians wrapped up their season almost five weeks ago, so they are already knee deep in their offseason preparations, and the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a deep and insightful look into the Indians first task this offseason: the decision on which players to remove from their 40-man roster.

Oh, the many fun things that can happen over small sample sizes. If we did not know any better, Jesus Aguilar’s 1-for-10 skid to start his time in the Venezuelan Winter League would be a concern. But after knocking a home run, a triple, and a single Monday night, Aguilar continued to show things are alright on Wednesday. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps Aguilar’s night and the rest of the action from across the globe as he takes you Around the Farm.

It wasn't a memorable series in that five of the seven games were decided by five or more runs, but it certainly had its moments with a dramatic Game 7 nailbiter and a superhuman performance throughout the series from Madison Bumgarner. In the end, the Giants won their third title in five years and Bumgarner is on top of the baseball world. The IBI's Tony Lastoria fills in with the news and notes from around baseball on Wednesday.

The Indians are going to explore a lot of trades this offseason, many upon many of which will not come to fruition. Some of their key players like Michael Brantley, Corey Kluber and Yan Gomes are untouchable, but in the right deal some of their core pieces could be dealt. One of those players is second baseman, and while a trade may ultimately not happen this offseason, the IBI's Jeff Ellis looks at four trades he would consider for Kipnis.

Not even a month into the offseason, Terry Francona already has his bullpen warming. On Tuesday, two excavators sat side-by-side on a mound of dirt in the area once called the Indians bullpen. Come next year, the section will house relievers from both the home and visiting teams, marking one of the several new changes at Progressive Field in 2015.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!